Victim's family sues Wal-Mart in worker's stampede death

December 04, 2008|By From news services

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — The family of a worker trampled to death in a "Black Friday" crush of shoppers at a Long Island Wal-Mart store filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming store ads offering deep discounts "created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety" that led to "crowd craze."

The lawsuit claims that besides failing to provide adequate security for a pre-dawn crowd estimated at 2,000, Wal-Mart "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem and was otherwise careless, reckless and negligent."

Wal-Mart, the adjacent Green Acres Mall, a realty company that manages the property and a security company hired to patrol the property all were named as defendants. None immediately responded to phone and e-mail inquiries seeking comment.

Jdimytai Damour, 34, had been hired by an employment agency as a temporary worker at the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream and had been on the job about a week when he died, said his family's lawyer, Jordan Hecht.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound man died of asphyxiation after being crushed early Friday morning by the crowd, which broke down the electronic doors in frantic pursuit of bargains.

Authorities suspect that because he was as big as an NFL lineman, Damour was placed at the entrance of the store to assist with crowd control.

OTHERS HURT

At least four other people were treated at hospitals, including a woman who was eight months' pregnant.